Framed by choice, or by destiny?

-
In her bestselling book The Art of Choosing, author Sheena Iyengar implies an interesting proposition -- that some cultures habitually frame their world around pre-set paths also known as "destinies" in contrast with Western societies where the key guiding principle is choice.

In short, to the Western mind, every situation is framed by choice. The question is usually What happens next? -- and therefore oriented to prospect. To the Filipino mind, on the other hand, the question seems to be more around What was it that pre-ordained us to this situation? -- and therefore oriented to retrospect.

Prospect implies a desire to control, whereas retrospect inclines towards resignation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular this week

Why indeed should we not bury former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Fort McKinley Libingan ng mga Bayani?

-
Image
Why not bury former President Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Filipino Heroes' Cemetery)? That is the question that came to light recently in the wake of the burial there of former Secretary and retired General Angelo Reyes, who was in the middle of being implicated in a big-time corruption scandal at the time of his death on the 8th of February this year. Marcos's son, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr today "reiterated his call for the burial of his father, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos, in the Libingan ng mga Bayani". Television personality Karen Davila was quoted by ANC 24/7 as having quoted Bongbong saying that "if Angelo Reyes was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, my late father should also be buried there".
Read more

The next Filipino career fad - mercenaries and soldiers of fortune

-
Image
Fear not my desperately underpaid compatriots! Even as Filipino nurses pour into the job market in enormous value-crushing volumes as Filipinos tend to do, there is yet another lucrative overseas market emerging for starving Filipino workers. In her paper " Pirates' in the Sea: Private Military and Security Company Activities in Southeast Asia and the Philippines ", Katherine Marie G. Hernandez reports that there is a lucrative market for Filipino mercenaries in various war zones all over the world.
Read more

Photos of a group of Filipino men slaughtering and eating a dog

-
Image
Just saw the photo below making the rounds on Facebook. The album from which it was lifted was posted by the Animal Welfare Coalition (see also AnimalWelfare.com.ph ). The caption of the album indicated that the photos were "proudly posted" by a certain Bigleng Arcilla on "November 8" and whose friends include "Jeff Pecson, Jannella Cruz, Ar Tubaces Jr., Arian Canlas, Jhenypher Sison, Aljon Masiclat, Jerome Cabuso, Aldwin Arcilla, Darwin Delos Reyes, Emanuel Dane Sevilla, Al Mungcal, Aw Arcilla".
Read more